Stanley are a five-piece outfit from South London that found its way in to our inbox a couple weeks back. After assuring me that they weren’t Chelsea fans, I spun their debut EP and my toes were tapping immediately. They deliver a blend of indie pop with hints of folk – and folk tends to hit our sweet spot.
My buddy Moish once described She & Him (The M. Ward and Zooey Deschanel collaboration) as saccharine because it was sweet and just left you feeling good. The same description would also work for Stanley. Fronted by the angelic voice of Hazel, the band eases through the five song EP in effortless fashion. The tunes are wonderfully arranged and leave you in a better place.
No US dates in the foreseeable future, but for our UK readers, they seem to be playing all over London. In fact, there are some pictures on their site from a performance at a place called The Barfly, where I once got monumentally wasted.
Patterson Hood of Drive-By Truckers is set to release his sophomore solo album called Murdering Oscar on June23rd. Killers and Stars, his solo debut, was an acoustic album that sounded like it was recorded in a bathroom. The lo-fi treatment served the album well. It’s a depressing affair that was recorded at a time when Patterson was going through some tough shit. I was expecting similar slow, acoustic sounds on Murdering Oscar, but that is not what greeted me when I pressed play.
Big, ominous guitar riffs roll in like thunderheads when the title track opens things up. You immediately feel the song’s intensity before a grizzled word is uttered from Patterson’s southern jowls. Then the tale of kill or be killed begins to unfold: “I killed Oscar/Shot him in the head/Put the gun in his mouth/ Watched his brains fly out.” Um, okay. Let me start that song over knowing what I know now. And proceed.
The song reminded me Patterson’s song “The Assasin” from Killers and Stars about a professional killer that loses the taste for his murderous ways. On “Murdering Oscar” it’s as if this same character is confronted from someone he’s wronged and relapses back into blood thirst. While on “The Assassin” the character contemplates quitting for good, he is now remorseless and says “I don’t need forgiveness for my sins/ I don’t need redemption for my sins/ Got the satisfaction of a job well done with my own bare hands.”
After “Murdering Oscar” ends, you’ll need to press pause just to catch your breath. It’s like watching a Quinten Terrintino movie where you can’t quite believe the casual treatment of violence and gore. Once recovered, the rest of the album lowers the intensity level on songs like “Pollyana,” “Pride of the Yankees” about Lou Gherig, “Grandaddy,” a song about growing old, and the whimsical “She’s A Little Randy.”
Drive-by Truckers fans will not be disappointed. Most songs would fit in perfectly on any DBT album, but these are Patterson’s and Murdering Oscar is a great step forward from Killers and Stars. Head over to his MySpace page to hear more tracks and check tour dates. He’ll be in Chicago on June 20th at the Metro with Will Johnson of Centro-matic.
The Roadside Graves, a criminally overlooked New Jersey band, is back with a massively ambitious release. After 2007’s No One Will Know Where You Have Been, the boys have landed on Autumn Tone Records which is also home to J. Tillman and The Henry Clay People. My Son’s Home is 18 tunes strong and, while that usually is a signal that a band needs to trim some fat, this album is brimming with alt-country genius from beginning to end.
Each song is unique in sound with exceptional lyrics that strike you between the eyes. For those unfamiliar with them, I would liken their sound to a blend of Felice Brothers, Trainwreck Riders, Son Volt and The Band with a sprinkling of Gaelic influence in the vein of The Waterboys. The band is fronted by John Gleason and his voice and songwriting will have you believing the man has lived a number of lives.
In a day, where America spends countless time voting on their next plastic wannabe superstar, our time would be well-spent listening to bands like The Roadside Graves who fill their songs with emotion, heart and soul. Oz and I both have the same favorite track, “Ruby.” This is one of the tunes that has that loose, ramshackle Felice Brothers sound as it tells the story of a man back from war and his love, Ruby. Gleason and Jeremy alternate singing verses towards the end of the tune and the interplay is extraordinary.
On the opposite end of the spectrum is the title track, “My Son’s Home.” Gleason pours every ounce of his soul into the tune with the barest of instrumentation and backing vocals. It’s absolutely mesmerizing and hasn’t lost an ounce of its impact despite numerous listens.
I could rattle off amazing tune after amazing tune which would make this review about 2,000 words long but instead I will just urge you to purchase this brilliant album. The boys will be doing a tour later this summer and will be making their way through Chicago, hopefully with a stop in Shirk’s studio for a session.
The Dexateens take it easy on Singlewide. Building on the success of Hardwire Healing and using a few tricks they picked up while working with Patterson Hood of Drive-By Truckers, the boys from Alabama decide to dial things down a notch on their fourth album. And while the amps may not be as high as the old days of Red Dust Rising, the songwriting has never been better.
Led by Elliot McPherson and John Smith, Singlewide produces a sound more fitting of a back porch than a smoky rock club. I actually fired this up while knocking down a cool one this past weekend. The sun was going down as I sat on the porch watching my monsters romp around and it felt so right.
Songs are structured around the acoustic guitar as McPherson and Smith trade easy going licks. The harmonies that flow throughout the album are effortless and its hard not to imagine the boys on rocking chairs drinking a big pitcher of Lynchburg Lemonade.
The second song, “Caption,” is my favorite. It’s an introspective look at one’s place in life and the lazy guitar lick that permeates throughout the tune sounds half-exhausted as it leaves the amp. A couple other faves include “Charlemagne” featuring slide guitar and “Missionary Blues” with standout lyrics. And to top things off, David Berman of Silver Jews makes a guest appearance on the final track, “Can You Whoop It.” It’s the last song Berman recorded before quitting music in January.
We’ll have a live session with The Dexateens in the coming weeks. Until then, you can Buy it at Amazon for $7.99.
During SXSW you hear about so many bands that are “the next big thing.” Usually they don’t live up to the hype, but there is the rare occasion when someone tells you about a band that turns out to be a gem. Chief is one such example. I was introduced to Chief band member, Michael Fujikawa, when I trekked across town to see another good band called Hungry Villagers. I typed “Chief” into my phone and filed it away.
Later on I bumped into Michael again, this time at The Love Language show where Chief ended up singing harmony for a band called Dawes. My interest was piqued, but I never tracked them down for a true performance in Austin. One visit to their MySpace page after arriving home made me regret it. The NY via LA band describes themselves as the offspring of Buffalo Tom and Oasis with Neil Young as an uncle.
In spite of the Oasis reference, I am loving this band. Their melodies wash over you and sink deep down into your being. The boys may have moved out of California but their sunny roots have not abandoned them in their new home. After repeated listens, I would say that if you enjoy bands like Fleet Foxes and The Moondoggies, then Chief is for you. From the first verses of the opening track “Your Direction” to the last chords of “Nice People,” I felt that I had discovered a band that is ready to explode on to the scene.
The boys have recently signed to a well known label and are set to put out their debut later this year. They’re hitting Glastonbury and have some other dates set for Europe. Let’s hope they set up a proper US tour so I can right the wrong of not seeing them in Austin.
The Devil Makes Three has just released the latest chapter of their gypsy-punk-hillbilly-bluegrass-blues gospel in an album called Do Wrong Right. That description is a mouthful, but DM3 is far from ordinary. The drummer-less trio consists of guitarist/frontman Pete Bernhard, stand-up bassist Lucia Turino and guitarist Cooper McBean. Their sound is driven by rhythm and three-part harmonies that beg you to boogie down, even if you aren’t the boogie down type.
Do Wrong Right might change your opinion about what can be done with an acoustic album. Traditional country songs like “Car Wreck” are offset by up-tempo banjo propelled songs like the album’s title track and then followed by brutally honest blues numbers like “Working Man’s Blues.” I haven’t had a chance to see a live show, but the word-of-mouth about their performances is the stuff of legends. From what I hear, hippies, young kids, college students, yuppies and people of all races and religions are dancing and singing along in blissful coexistence. They are on a monstrous cross-country tour this summer, so we’ll all have a chance to find out for ourselves.
While this ragtag band might be a bit loose and rough around the edges, those same qualities are what bring character to their music. The Devil Makes Three have a lively spirit and are bound to win over audiences all over the country, one drinking hole at a time.
Strand of Oaks is a bit deceptive as a moniker since the band is really just one man named Timothy Showalter. He’s an Indiana native that’s now living as a school teacher and school bus driver in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania. He’s also a brilliant songwriter that has quietly released a stunning debut album called Leave Ruin.
The title of the album is autobiographical. Timothy came home one night to find his house burned down and all if his possessions turned to ash. He was forced to start over with a borrowed guitar, pen, paper and a devastating source of inspiration to tell his stories.
Showalter describes his sound as early Neil Young or Springsteen, but I immediately drew comparisons to modern day contemporaries – like a cross between Mark Kozalek (Red House Painters, Sun Kil Moon) and Jason Molina (Songs: Ohia, Magnolia Electric Co.). When I heard the opening of the first track, “End In Flames,” I was immediately reminded of the Red House Painters song, “Have You Forgotten.” It’s a beautiful song that layers on instrumentation as the song builds and repeats a chorus that can only be a reflection on his personal tragedy: “This is what it feels like to see the world in flames.”
The next song, “Two Kids,” moves away from the shoe-gazy Kozalek sound and starts moving into Molina territory with the introduction of the banjo and more downcast folk-Americana. From there, the album moves seamlessly from one breathtaking track to the next and culminates with the title track. Strand of Oaks spends most of the album reflecting on tough times, but leaves us with a hopeful sentiment about how things will get better. It’s a sentiment that’s good to hear these days.
With so many music submissions arriving in our inbox and mailbox, it was refreshing to discover Leave Ruin on eMusic by happenstance. I’d never heard of Strand of Oaks and now it’s an album I can’t pull myself away from.
The Traditionist is contrarian. The man behind the moniker is actually Joey Barro of the Antiques and, for those that unfamiliar with their lazy California alt-country sound, The Traditionist is not nearly as…traditional. On Season To Season, Barro stretches his legs to find new sounds and the result is a deeply personal album.
If you haven’t been following HearYa since April of 2007 (that’s 99% of you), you probably didn’t see our very first live session recorded in San Francisco with Joey Barro at Michael Winger’s studio. Prior to the session, I got a quick glimpse inside the recording of Season To Season at Tim Bluhm’s (of the Mother Hips) studio. Jackie Greene was also there, but he was mostly looking at surfing websites. Enough name dropping. I really just said “hello,” sat in a corner and drank a Budweiser.
One of the tracks that emerged in our session with Barro was “I Know My Ocean.” Here we are, two years later, and that same track is now on his first release as The Traditionist. Season To Season originally started off as an Antiques record, but the sound became a big departure from their Americana vibe and, instead, became a solo project. While some of the tracks experiment with electronic elements, there are still enough acoustic tracks with well written lyrics and Joey’s warm vocals to satisfy me. The tracks that latch on and stick in my head are “Driftwood Doll” and “I Know My Ocean.” Give those a spin and let them sink in. The album was released yesterday.
You also owe it to yourself to check out Nicknames and Natives by The Antiques. Great album.
I was first introduced to the music of Neko Case around the time of the release of Fox Confessor Brings the Flood in 2006. The first adjective that sprung to mind was haunting. How else can one describe such darkly melodic tracks such as “Margaret Vs Pauline” and “Star Witness” (which starts out with Case crooning, “My true love drowned in a dirty old pan of oil”)? The album had a kind of Roy Orbison as storyteller feel that extended well past the alt-country label that had been pinned on her, at times revealing traces of folk-punk and indie pop. And her vocal range was stunning. Enlightened listeners agreed and the album peaked at #4 on the U.S. indie charts.
Neko just released her first studio album in nearly three years under the title Middle Cyclone and the recipe that made Fox Confessor such a success has thankfully not been altered. Collaborators on this record included M. Ward, members of the New Pornographers (Neko’s part-time side project), and Calexico…a nice mix for sure. Furthermore, all the same musicians that have backed her since Blacklisted reappear including the enchanting backing vocals of Kelly Hogan. One added benefit is the interesting choice of cover art previously discussed on this site.
The album consists of 15 tracks, assuming that you consider “Marais la nuit” a track, which is actually 31 minutes of crickets recorded on her farm. The first three tracks are wonderfully vintage Neko Case and easily could have been included on Fox Confessor. On “This Tornado Loves You”, Case narrates an up-tempo number from the perspective of a tornado that crosses three counties leaving destruction in its wake. Is she personifying a deathly storm or is it meant to be allegorical? We don’t know for sure, but you have to appreciate lyrics like:
My love, I am the speed of sound, I left the motherless fatherless,
Their souls dangling from the insides of their mouths.
On the second track, “The Next Time You Say Forever,” she shifts gears slightly and introduces a nice backdrop of strings and mid-temp guitar strums behind lines like, “I’ve lost my taste for home and that’s a dirty fallow feeling.” Finally on the third track, and quite possibly the best on the album, she introduces her most memorable lyrical hook with “I’m a man, man, man-eater…” Each song is a story, whether its animals gone berserk, high school hallways or twisters, they’re all unique and interesting. And all told from the perspective of a ruby-voiced narrator.
This is one of the great indie musicians around today and, given her past catalogue, fans and admirers of her music have every reason to expect the most from a new album with a 3-year gestation period. But take my word, she doesn’t disappoint.
The Veils are back with the release of their third album, Sun Gangs, on the Rough Trade label, which is anticipated to be out on April 7. The Veils are the product of one Finn Andrews, son of a member of XTC, but the music has few similarities to that epic ‘80s electronica band. In fact, Andrews’ artistry seems to have been more influenced by the great singer-songwriters, Dylan, Waits and Leonard Cohen. Graham Sutton, whose works include The British Sea Power, amongst others, produced the album.
The album has been described as desolate, romantic and anguished, all of which seem to be appropriate adjectives. At first listen, and much like the predecessor album, this sounds more than a little like Nick Cave and it’s not just the occasional religious imagery in the lyrics. The first track, and in my opinion the best, “Sit Down By The Fire”, is equal parts ballad and anthem and could very well offer up a modern commentary on the state of the world today. “’Sit Down By The Fire’ is about watching something collapse, and it being quite pretty to look at,” offers Andrews.
Other keepers included the title track and “Killed By The Boom”, which bears the closest resemblance to some of Cave’s work. All three of these songs offer up a rather eclectic mix and lead one to the conclusion that this is indeed an ambitious, if not terribly uplifting, record. Nonetheless, I found it rather enjoyable.
